Magnetic resonance imaging in the diagnosis of tumors at the base of the skull.

The diagnostic efficacy of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) was compared with that of CT (computed tomography) in 5 patients with tumors at the base of the skull.Tumors in the areas surrounded by bones at the skull base were clearly imaged without the artifacts seen in CT scans.Multiplane imaging can be obtained easily with MRI. Sagittal sections are of great use in visualizing vertical expansion of the tumor. Loss of the black rim of the compact bone at the skull base and loss of the high signal intensity of the fatty bone marrow were comfirmed at surgery to be signs of skull base destruction. The authors stress that MRI is very valuable in planning the treatment of tumors of the skull base.